Why Don’t Rich Women Give to Super PACs?

Women are gaining ground in almost every corner of the economy – except perhaps, for, Super PACs.

Amy Simmons

Harold and Annette Simmons, photographed at their home on March 19, 2012.

According to an analysis of FEC data by the Houston Chronicle, women make up only 14% of Super-Pac donors. In overall political giving, women make up about a third of political contributions.

Why the dearth of super-rich women donors?

Some analysts quoted by Chronicle say it’s a function of the gender imbalance of the super-rich. Indeed, women account for only about 10% of the Forbes 400.

Still, I’m not sure that quite explains it. While women may be under-represented in the world of billionaires, they account for about 37% of America’s millionaires. And plenty of Super-PAC donors are millionaires rather than billionaires.

There may be another reason. First, while men may be listed as the donor to a Super PAC, these donations are probably joint decisions – where both husband and wife support a candidate. Harold Simmons, for example, gave money to Santorum in conjunction with his wife.

Another reason is the gender make-up of the parties and Super PACs. So far, Super PACs have skewed right. Obama’s Super PAC has raised only a fraction of Romney’s. Some recent polls show that among women voters, Obama leads Romney by 19 percentage points. So the so-called “gender gap” in the political parties may also be reflected in the giving.